Oceana High School: Jefferson Union High School District

Oceana’s Vision and Mission Overview

In 1992, Oceana High School restructured as a small school (between 500-600 students) borrowing heavily from the principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools (from Brown University).  The restructuring design incorporates the following features:

• Oceana is guided by a vision that sets high expectations for all students. This belief is reflected in rigorous graduation requirements, including 100 hours of community service, a Senior Exhibition, and four years of humanities (English and social studies); and in such practices as offering all students the option to enroll in enriched and advanced placement classes.
• Students are required to demonstrate mastery of the school wide outcomes through an instructional program that stresses authentic assessment and project based learning; a block schedule supports these instructional goals and methods. 
• An advisory class facilitates student-teacher personalization and supports college and career planning.
• A system of shared leadership where faculty, staff, students, and parents participate in major academic and policy decisions.The school’s site-based management governance structure includes an Academic Council comprised of teachers, the principal, a clerical staff representative, students, and a parent representative. Major school-wide decisions require staff consensus.
• The Wednesday school day is shortened to accommodate two-hour meetings for faculty to collaborate on curriculum, analyze student performance data, and reflect on and refine classroom practice; and for students to perform community service.
• A strong system of personalized support for all students' academic success.
• An educational program that teaches students - through project-based learning and authentic assessment - to use their minds well and become life-long learners.
• A commitment to educate students about their role as citizens in a democratic society, about the Universe of Obligation, and the importance of social justice.
• Many opportunities to learn beyond the traditional classroom through an interim week; community service; after school classes such as dance, music, and language; interscholastic athletics; and a wide variety of student-led extracurricular activities and clubs.
• To address the needs of struggling students, teachers commit to holding weekly office hours for individual or small group assistance to students. In addition, academic intervention meetings with students & parents are scheduled and attended by students, their parents, a school counselor or administrator, and the student’s teachers.
• Under the leadership of our counseling department we offer comprehensive support services for students that include the use of MFT, MSW and School Counseling Interns, and therapists and groups run by community agencies.

Wellness Counseling Overview 

Wellness Counseling in Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD) began in 1986 and developed into a comprehensive program that serves a wide range of student needs. Interns will focus primarily on working with the offering direct counseling (long term and crisis) counseling services with students and their families.

Direct counseling services are a critical component of our Wellness services. This includes individual, couples, group and family counseling for students. For the past two decades, students in MSW and MFT programs spend between two and three days a week providing direct services on campus. The interns have been a welcome addition as they enhance both the quality and the quantity of services we provide.

Wellness Interns offer individual, couple, family and group counseling to students who are dealing with a wide range of adolescent social and mental health issues including: family issues, intergenerational cultural conflicts, academic struggles, adolescent depression and anxiety, difficulty with peer relationships, sex, gender and sexuality, drug and alcohol use and abuse, sexual abuse, early childhood trauma, child abuse and suicidal ideation, poverty, cultural issues, and much more

Oceana serves a very diverse high school student population. Students attend 9th -12th grade and typically range between 14 and 18 years old. According to EdSource (http://www.ed-data.org/school/San-Mateo/Jefferson-Union-High/Oceana-High ), in the 2015-16 school year, the student demographics were as follows:

• The ethnic diversity factor was 68%: 2.3% identified asAfrican American, 28.1% identified as Filipino, 15% identified as Asian, 21.1% identified as white,24.1% identified asLatino and 8.7% identified as two or more races.
• 14% of our students are in various levels of special education ranging from one support class to full inclusion day classes.
• 33.8% of our students are low-income and qualify Free or Reduced lunch.
• 7.7% qualify as English Language Learners
• 81% met the CSU/UC a-g college entrance requirements and 91% of the seniors graduated

Additionally, many of our students are raised in nontraditional family structures – with aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, in foster care, etc… Some of our students are homeless or tenuously housed. We have many out (and not out) GLBT students. We have students from many religious backgrounds: Muslim, Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, etc…

Social Work interns at Oceana high school carry a full case-load of student-clients, and provide crisis counseling on an as needed basis. Interns have private offices, full access to the school’s student information system, computers and dedicated telephones. This internship is excellent for anyone pursuing a PPS credential or for anyone who wants experience with adolescents in a setting where they generally feel comfortable and connected.Interns also have the option of working ½ - 1 full day a week at a local middle school to fulfill PPS requirements.

Intern assignments and learning opportunities:

• Weekly case load of 8-12 students, including the option to work ½-1full day at Ingrid B. Lacy, a feeder middle school several blocks from Oceana, to fulfill PPS requirements

• Weekly individual supervision and the option for group supervision if there are multiple interns
• Create weekly interventions and overall therapeutic goals for student clients
• Research and use effective therapeutic interventions for students (using course work, information from trainings and our mental health workbook library)
• Collaborate with students’ families as needed/desired
• Collaborate with various stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, counselors, family members, police, Child Protective Services, outside mental health agencies, and other community agencies
• Participation in IEPs, 504s, parent/teacher conferences, Student Study Team meetings, Care Team Meetings, and other intervention meetings
• Attend weekly faculty meetings as needed/desired
• Create and facilitate therapeutic groups as needed/desired
• Create and facilitate student lessons as it relates to student mental health needs as needed/desired
• Create and facilitate staff development as it relates to student mental health needs as needed/desired
• Creation of student behavior support plans as needed/desired
• Examination of school support and wellness systems and creation of alternate systems/policies if needed/desired

Intern skill building opportunities:

• Case management
• Client assessment, goal setting and therapeutic planning
• Crisis intervention (including mandated reporting and suicide assessment)
• Group planning and facilitation
• Client advocacy
• Coordination and collaboration with families, school staff and outside agencies
• Basic understanding of adolescent cognitive development
• School Social Work tasks
• Greater facility with working with diverse clients

• Attend monthly regional mental health collaborative meetings sponsored by the County Office of Ed
• Attend various trainings from various San Mateo County community agencies including North County Mental Health weekly intern trainings
• Attend various conferences/workshops offered by the County office of Ed and other local agencies
• Participation in mindfulness practices and teaching at school. Option of mindfulness teaching training if needed/desired

• Desire to work with adolescents
• Ability to work in a semi-chaotic environment and juggle multiple tasks at once – schools are intense and there are many things happening at once
• Understanding of adolescent cognitive development
• Initiative and ability to jump in and help where needed
• Compassion, patience, flexibility and humor
• Languages other than English (Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, Arabic) are helpful, but not required
• Ease with learning new computer software (student database system, Google Schools, etc…)

• Interns must follow the Oceana school calendar - some dates might conflict with the SFSU academic calendar
• It is helpful to have a car to get to Oceana. While it is only a 15 minute drive from San Francisco, it can take well over an hour on public transportation

Most years, we offer a $1,000 stipend. Interns must go through the process of becoming an employee of the district to get the stipend, which requires about an hour of time.

• Some conference/workshops covered by school
• Snacks provided at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays